Answered by Vox Season 1 Episode 34 Could We Reduce Police Killings If We Had More Data?

As the Black Lives Matter movement grows in strength, so too do the calls for police reform. In this episode of Answered by Vox, we explore one potential avenue for reducing police killings: collecting more data. Host Sean Illing sits down with two guests to discuss what it would take for police departments to collect and analyze more data on interactions with civilians. The first guest is Alex Vitale, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and author of "The End of Policing." Vitale argues that the current model of policing is flawed and that more data won't fix the underlying problems. The second guest is Jennifer Doleac, professor of economics at Texas A&M University and director of the Justice Tech Lab. Doleac advocates for more data collection, arguing that it can help identify patterns in police behavior and inform policy changes. Throughout the episode, Illing and his guests unpack the complicated politics of data collection, including concerns around privacy, consent, and bias. They also explore the potential benefits of collecting more data, including the ability to identify problem officers and ensure greater accountability. Ultimately, the episode leaves viewers with a crucial question: can data help us reduce police killings, or are more radical reforms necessary?